Mont Alto completes play at Nationals, Rice and Wantz named Academic All-Americans

Penn State Mont Alto Women's Volleyball team finished their time at nationals with a loss to #1 Florida College.  Florida College went on to win the 2011 USCAA National Championship Tournament. 

Head Coach Drue Hoffman comments on the final match at Nationals…

"I thought the ladies from Mont Alto played well in their final match at USCAA Nationals.  We were well coached and prepared for a match of this level, however we were simply outmatched in the height and vertical department.   Our ladies never quit fighting, as evident in the scores of each set, and they even played a few balls that surprised Florida College.  It is just very tough to keep an offense going when the opposing block is raising the net height by two and a half to three feet.

Overall, I was very happy and pleased with the play that Mont Alto showed at Nationals.  Even in the three matches of pool play that we lost, we were there and made each team know that they had played a tough team. Our team worked hard all weekend and that effort was noted by opposing coaches and spectators.  As the smallest squad, number-wise, in the tournament, we were able to play solid volleyball despite not having all the substitutions the other teams did.

I am proud to have called myself coach of the Lady Lions from Mont Alto.  It takes heart, dedication, and determination to complete a 25 match season and still have energy to continue to the national tournament.   It takes even more grit and determination to go to Nationals and compete with the top ten small college teams in the country! These ladies exemplified all that is great about sports and Penn State sports this past weekend!"

Sophomores Brianne Rice and Katie Wantz were named USCAA Academic All-Americans for their success in the classroom and on the court.